This invention relates to processes for making silicone rubber moulds. More particularly, this invention relates to processes for making filled silicone rubber moulds.
Silicone rubber is known to be an excellent material from which to make a mould and has been used for this purpose for many years. Unfortunately, however, silicone rubber is an expensive material, and moulds made therefrom necessarily are expensive. Various attempts have been made in the past to reduce the cost of silicone rubber moulds. For example, attempts have been made to reduce the amount of silicone rubber required by making a part of the mould, more specifically, the back of the mould, from some other material so that the mould consists of back-up material other than silicone rubber to which is adhered a thin layer of silicone rubber. The problem with this technique is in finding a suitable backup material to which the silicone rubber skin will adhere.